The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Light Detection and Ranging (“LIDAR”) sensors are becoming increasingly important and desirable in automotive applications. The use of LIDAR sensors is especially important when the sensors are used with self-driving vehicles because they are able to provide real time information on the presence of other vehicles travelling in close proximity to a perimeter of a particular self-driving vehicle.
A challenge, however, with using LIDAR sensors in any type of automotive application is the need to maintain the lens surface of the LIDAR sensor clean. Dust, dirt, rain, mud, salt and other contaminants can collect on the surface of a LIDAR sensor and impede the optical signal that is transmitted to/from a LIDAR sensor. Further complicating matters is the fact that LIDAR sensors used in automotive applications typically need to be able to transmit light pulses within a wide arc, and in many instances within a 360 degree arc. This presents particular challenges in maintaining the full surface area of the sensor's lens clean from contaminants, because simply spraying a cleaning solution from a single fixed point may not suffice to adequately maintain the lens clean.